roswell

7his method of release is a development of the upwind release used in
radiosonde flights in the u.s. Weather Bureau, with refinements first used
by General ~ills Aeronautical Research Laboratories and necessitated by the
larger balloon size and the nwnber of canponents on each flight.
Using this method, successful releases were made at Alamogordo in
winds of 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 30 miles per ho~.
c. Recovery
Much additional information on the behavior of the train components
can be gained if they are recovered. Two methods of recovery are employed:
1) reward tags and 2) recovery by the balloon crew tracking the flight.
Reward tags attached to several components have encouraged the finders
to protect the equipment and report its location. the tag and associated
questionnaire are included in Appendix 3. Total recovery of flights to date
is about 60~ of those released.
When the location of the balloon is known by visual observation from
an airplane, or the landing area is indicated by direo.tion-finding gear,
recovery is attempted by truck· by the balloon crew or the crew at one of the
downwind stations. Several successful recoveries have been made of flights
ot relatively short range. It was found in earlier atte~pts that the balloon
equipment was a difficult target both in the air and on the ground. Con-
sequently a colored cheesecloth banner (6 by l2·ft., stiffened top and bottom)
was added to the train. It also is a convenient marker for theodolite stadia
measurements. A banner may be seen in Figure 30.. White banners seem to be
the most generally useful.
Section 6. Fligb.t Summary
A summary of pertinent information on all flights made to date is
included in Appendix 1 as table VII. · Also shown bhere are flight train
- 26.-